Lawyers for Marine Le Pen told a Paris court on Monday that the French far-right leader had no intention of committing a crime, on the final day of a crucial appeals process that will decide whether she can run for president of France next year.
Le Pen, the longtime leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), was banned from running for public office for five years last March after being convicted of misusing European Union funds.
She was seen as a likely frontrunner in the 2027 race until she and others were found guilty of embezzling more than four million euros in EU funds. Judges ruled that between 2004 and 2016 they used funds intended for work in the European Parliament to pay staff who were actually working for the party.
Le Pen, who denies the charges, hopes her ban will be lifted or reduced on appeal, which would allow her to run in 2027. If that is not possible, RN president Jordan Bardella is expected to run in her place.
Le Pen's lawyers, Sandra Chirac Kolarik and Rodolphe Bosello, told the court that the European Parliament's rules were unclear and that Le Pen never intended to do anything illegal.
"If what she did then was a crime, she was not aware that she had committed it," Kolarik said.
Last week, prosecutors confirmed they were seeking a five-year ban on Le Pen from running for public office, but dropped an earlier request that the ban apply regardless of any further appeal.
If the appeals court upholds the verdict and adopts the prosecutor's recommendation, Le Pen could still appeal to France's highest court, the Court of Cassation.
That court said it would seek to decide on a possible final appeal before the election.
However, any decision made just before the vote, expected in the spring of 2027, could disrupt the party's presidential strategy, according to Reuters.
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